Share this content

Bookmark

HONG KONG: Thousands of Hong Kong activists used torches, lanterns and laser pens to light up two of the city's best-known hillsides on Friday night (Sep 13) in an eye-catching protest alongside an annual festival.

Friday evening marks the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important dates in the Chinese calendar, and is traditionally a time for thanksgiving, spending time with family and praying for good fortune.

Advertisement

Advertisement

But as Hong Kong convulses from more than three months of political unrest, activists used the night as a way to keep their movement buoyant with no signs of protests abating.

Throughout the evening thousands of activists with torches on their heads hiked their way up hill trails leading to the top of Lion Rock which overlooks the sprawling skyscrapers of the city's Kowloon district, one of the most densely populated places on earth.

A demonstrator aims the beam of a laser pen towards Lion Rock as others form a human chain on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong on Sep 13, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

Advertisement

Advertisement

They also gathered to form a long human chain on the Peak - a popular tourist spot which offers picture-postcard views of the finance hub and its dramatic waterfront.

Both groups, whose lights were visible to each other across the harbour, chanted slogans and sang Glory to Hong Kong, an anonymously penned protest anthem which has gone viral in recent days.

"Today's autumn festival is a symbol of family and togetherness, so this is in the spirit of gathering the power of the Hong Kong people," a 24-year-old protester, who gave his surname Yip, told AFP as he sweated his way towards the top of Lion Rock in the unforgiving sticky evening heat.

Anti-extradition Bill protesters use laser beams as they form a human chain on top of the iconic Lion Rock, at Wong Tai Sin, during mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong, China Sep 13, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)

"We are going to fight with Hong Kong and fight for freedom," added another protester, who gave his surname Shum.

"Me and my wife decided to walk up to show our sincerity to our government that we really want freedom," he said.

WEEKS OF PROTESTS

Hong Kong has been battered by nearly 100 days of protests, sparked by a now-abandoned plan to allow extraditions to the mainland.

After local leaders and Beijing took a hard line, the movement snowballed into wider calls for democracy, police accountability and a halt to eroding freedoms in what is the greatest challenge to Beijing's rule since the 1997 handover.

Millions of people have taken part in huge, largely peaceful demonstrations.

A protester holds a lantern as people gather in Sha Tin during the Mid-Autumn Festival, in Hong Kong, China, on Sep 13, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Silva)

But smaller groups of hardline protesters have fought increasingly violent battles with riot police and vandalised subway stations in scenes that have sent shockwaves through the once-stable financial hub.

On Friday evening, in one of the protest movement's more surreal moments, small groups of demonstrators gathered on a housing estate where Lam was visiting, shouting "We want to eat mooncakes".

Residents told local media Lam had made a brief visit to a nearby elderly home to distribute mooncakes, a dense pastry handed out during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Activists and analysts say the movement will only end when some of the other key demands are met such as an inquiry into the police, an amnesty for the nearly 1,400 people arrested and universal suffrage.

There is little sign of Beijing ceding to those demands or the protests abating.

A demonstrator sings an anthem as others form a human chain on Victoria Peak in Hong Kong on Sep 13, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

Plans by demonstrators to hold rallies on Saturday and Sunday have been rejected by the police.

But previous bans have simply been ignored by the masses and clashes with police have quickly followed.

On Sunday, protesters had planned to march through the city while a separate, smaller demonstration was planned outside the British consulate in a bid to call on London to do more to protect the former colony from Beijing's tightening grip.

Student groups have also called for a week-long general strike starting on Oct 1, when leaders in Beijing will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China.

Tagged Topics

Share this content

Bookmark

More stories for you

Get the CNA newsletter in your inbox

Invalid email address

It looks like the email address you entered is not valid.

I consent to the use of my personal data by Mediacorp and the Mediacorp group of companies (collectively "Mediacorp") to send me marketing and advertising materials in relation to goods and services of Mediacorp and its business partners and for research and analysis

About Us

Advertise with us

Get the news that matters in your inbox every morning!

Please enter your email address

I consent to the use of my personal data by Mediacorp and the Mediacorp group of companies (collectively "Mediacorp") to send me marketing and advertising materials in relation to goods and services of Mediacorp and its business partners and for research and analysis